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When he walked away, I tucked my nose down into the leather jacket to inhale his scent that had calmed me before.
“Let’s go to Levi’s room,” Trinity said gently, then led me through an arched doorway, down a wide hallway, and into a foyer that had a stairwell worthy of a magazine photo shoot. She took my hand in hers as we climbed the stairs to the second floor.
We passed several doors until she stopped at a closed one and opened it. Then, she released my hand and stepped back for me to enter. I walked past her, and the familiar scent that I knew belonged to Levi lingered heavily in the air. Much stronger than the jacket I was wearing.
My eyes slowly took in the room. Tan walls, one large window overlooking what appeared to be the back side of the house. A king-size bed with a tall black headboard and gray bedding. More pillows than any one man would need. A black leather sofa sat along the far wall with a flat screen television over the long dresser. Two doors—one closed and the other open, where I could see a glimpse of the bathroom.
“Do you want to lie down?” Trinity asked me.
I shook my head, not wanting to disturb anything. I wasn’t sure how long I would be here. Levi might take me somewhere else. I doubted he planned to let me stay here in his home.
“The bathroom is right through there if you want to take a bath or shower. Or I could turn on the television for you if you’d like.”
I wiped at my face, trying to focus on the situation and not on the anguish. I was in a strange place with no one to call. Levi couldn’t be expected to keep me. He’d saved me, and he’d promised to keep me safe. Believing he would keep me here and take on the role as my protector wasn’t reality.
What would come of me tomorrow? Why hadn’t Irish let me get a job, make friends, find a life here?
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I whispered.
I felt Trinity walk up beside me. “Levi will figure it out.” She sounded so sure.
I wished it were that simple.
I shook my head. “There is nothing to figure out. I’m alone. No one is left.”
Her hand covered mine again and squeezed it. “Then, you’ll stay here.”
I wanted to sob from her kindness, but I knew she misunderstood the situation.
“Levi saved me tonight, but … he doesn’t owe me anything. He doesn’t know me.”
“Right now, I see a woman who’s alone. Who is scared and who needs a friend. I was that woman once, and I understand that fear. You have me. No need for introductions.”
The raw cry that tore from my chest was one of pain, loss, and relief, all twisted together in a turmoil where there was no peace.
Six
Levi
Huck’s unease was clear as he glared at me. I’d brought Aspen here without asking, with no notice and no background check. I also didn’t give a fuck. If he thought I was intimidated by his size, I could show him just how little I cared.
Aspen’s trembling body and terrified expression would haunt me. She had no one. No family. Nothing.
“You brought her here, knowing her sister was mixed up with this shit?!” Huck roared.
“Should I have left her with the bastard who was threatening to rape her, then kill her while she hid under a fucking bed?” I asked.
Huck muttered a curse. “This is our home. You broke protocol, letting in someone who hadn’t been checked first.”
“I’m going to point out here that you did the same fucking thing with Trinity,” Gage said from the leather chair he had been sitting in when I arrived.
Huck swung his gaze to Gage, as if he’d said something ridiculous. “That’s Trinity we are talking about. My fiancée. Not some strange woman involved in God knows what!”
Gage looked surprised by his response. “When you brought Trinity here, it was because you had taken her from a fucking job. We had been ordered to clean the place, and instead of killing a witness, you took her. Sure, she’s your fiancée now, but the day you brought her into this house, she was a fucking stranger.”
“What the fuck? Are you taking his side? You might not live in this house anymore, but you live on this property with your woman. Who you want to keep safe. How can you even compare the two situations?”
Gage stood then and put the cigar he’d been smoking out. “Because I trust Levi. He knows the dangers. He’s the fucker who does our background checks. He knew what he was doing when he brought her inside the gate.”
